Samourai Wallet Founder's 'Fugitive Preparation' Notes Revealed, Judge Denies Bail Requests

The District Court for the Southern District of New York denied Samourai Wallet founder Keonne Rodriguez's request to modify the conditions of her bail. The prosecution introduced into evidence Rodriguez's handwritten “escape preparation” notes, which detailed travel plans and emergency items. Rodriguez's attorney argued that this was a general emergency plan, but the prosecution argued that it was an aggressive escape plan. The news comes after Rodriguez and co-founder William Lonergan Hill were arrested in April of this year for running an unregistered money transmission business that involved $2 billion in illegal transactions and $100 million in money laundering transactions. Lawyers for the two founders cited a letter from two senators in May of this year accusing the Department of Justice of over-interpreting non-custodial crypto-asset software services.